The present invention is related to the field of telecommunications. More particularly the present invention is related to personal communication between a sender and receiver that enables the receiver to communicate with minimum knowledge, experience or effort.
Communicating through devices using various telecommunication technologies is very common in today's world. In particular, communication through wireless telecommunication technologies and assisting devices is becoming more prevalent. With the advancement of technology, today people can talk, access the Internet, and send messages using a single device. More particularly, messaging using these devices is becoming a very popular way of communication. While it is popular, messaging, particularly using a point-to-point communication device (such as a telephone handset, cellular phone, etc.) presents many users with a number of challenges. Such challenges exist, for example, because of the time it takes to respond or the complexity in responding to these messages.
Particularly, in the case of young people, elderly people, people in a hurry or others with limited ability to see and type using a standard point-to-point communications device, it is desirable to provide a device designed for simplified interaction, such as a “one-touch” response. While efforts have been made to design devices with more convenient or simplified interfaces, each have limitations and disadvantages and fail to adequately solve the problem of a truly simplified device interface, particularly for facilitating responses to various types of messages.
For example, published U.S. application 2004/0186889 discloses the provision of “one-touch” response for messages in telecommunication devices by sending response options along with the message that are mapped with identified keys. The sender composes a message by filling in a template stored on a server. Once completed, the sender pushes the message to a recipient's wireless device if the wireless device contains a WAP browser which is capable of receiving pushed messages. Typically, the message includes a question along with several responses from which the recipient may choose. Each response corresponds with a pre-assigned response key and the recipient answers the question by selecting one of the pre-assigned response keys. The recipient's response is available to the sender in the form of an e-mail, WAP Push, via on-line access or so-called instant message that is displayed to the sender.
In another example, European patent application EP1496677 discloses a communication apparatus having programmable softkeys, especially for sending data, e.g., by means of tone signals. The apparatus stores sets of softkeys, wherein the softkeys are associated with sending predefined data. The softkeys may be programmed by the user or by receiving a configuration message automatically installing the softkey function. The invention also relates to a method of programming softkeys in such an apparatus by using a softkey editor or installing a set-up file in the apparatus received from a server. The softkey set-up file may be transmitted by means a short message service (SMS) or other protocol.
Each of the aforementioned references has technical limitations addressed by the present invention. Published U.S. application 2004/0186889 operates only with WAP enabled devices, and European application EP1496677 requires softkey map files to be pre-programmed and stored in the memory of a device and does not enable a message sender to easily create a message, optional responses, and selectable associated response keys on the recipient's device. The present invention provides an apparatus and method which overcome these and other limitations, providing an improved and simplified interface for telecommunications devices such as wireless telephones and the like.